An inch of the real thing and it's a new world out there... ~ handmade home

Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 7, 2012

An inch of the real thing and it's a new world out there...

Alcea rosea 'Fiesta Time'

... and I'm not talking about soda pop... I'm talking rain, real rain!! While it's true that areas within a few miles of us in all directions may have gotten much more (one friend picked up just short of four inches in a single storm), I am very content with my 9/10ths. The gardens were 'primed' and ready, thanks to my watering over the last many weeks... all it took to bring them to life was some water from on high. Is it too much to hope that the worst of the drought and heat are past... time will tell, but for this day I am truly thankful.

This little hollyhock has self-seeded in it's immediate area... it shows no signs of rust as many of my larger ones had been plagued with, leading to my tearing them all out. It's called Fiesta or sometimes Fiesta Time, and it creates quite a show...

I fully intend on spreading Fiesta seeds about the gardens this fall... for now it is tucked with a number of its self-seeded progeny out of the way in the company of Acer griseum and palmatum 'Bloodgood'...

I have a very colorful pot near the rock garden that just doesn't quit blooming, even when moved into the house for the winter...

There are pink blooms...

and yellow blooms...

There are red blooms (my favorite)...

... and even miniature blooms...

They are all versions of Euphorbia milii or Crown of Thorns, and together they make a pretty spectacular showing. The larger ones will eventually reach four feet, but for now they work well combined in a single container. This is one plant that doesn't concern me when it starts shedding leaves after being brought into the house in the fall... they keep on blooming, leaves or no...

For the most part, the daylilies are past for the season... an early year for sure. There are a few plants that are still going strong... especially this unnamed cultivar from a cross by a friend...

Years past, altheas didn't seem to be very hardy for our area. I've come to believe that some of the problem may have been that I often bought them very late in the season on sale... they frequently didn't have enough time to settle in. Until this week, I only had three plants, two of which with small double blooms, I don't find all that effective. I decided to search out some new plants, particularly those with large single flowers. Well, the palette wasn't all that full, but I did manage to find six new cultivars.

Here is a photo of my largest double... I don't recall the name... it does work well with Cornus 'Samaritan', a smaller white double althea,Thalictrum 'Lavender Mist', and 'David' phlox...

Here then, are a couple of the new additions...
A partially doubled and larger bloomed 'Lavender Chiffon'... (I also bought a 'White Chiffon')...

This is 'Aphrodite'...

I found a blue single similar to 'Blue Bird' and a dwarf form from Proven Winners called 'L'il' Kim", the blooms of which last for three days rather than one. Finally, I couldn't resist a lovely single pictured here called 'Helene' which will always remind me of my new blogging friend Helene and her lovely garden in London.